After technical components are developed and prior to their use, they may need to be tested to determine how they behave in various situations. Such a test may comprise a plurality of test cases, wherein each test case has a set of input data and a set of expected output data. Simply put, the test object is acted upon with the input data and the reaction or behavior of the test object relative to these input data is measured. The data measured in this way are then compared to the expected output data associated with this test case. Agreement between the measured data and the expected output data indicates correct functioning of the test object in that specific test case. If the measured data deviate from the pre-specified and expected output data, this may indicate a malfunction of the test object.
In some circumstances, it may be necessary to adapt a test environment to a specific test object, whether this is related to the mechanical coupling of the test object to the test environment or is related to the signals coupling of the test object to the test environment for acting on the test object with the input data of a test case and for reading out the output data in connection with a test case.
A test case is normally started by a test case implementation unit and the implementation of the test case is monitored, wherein an individual test case implementation unit is prepared in order to implement test cases on the test object. If a new or variant test object is provided for testing in the test environment, it may be necessary to adapt the test environment to the variant test object.